NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse
Semifinals

Officials Lynn Bowers (left) and Jenn O'Donnell examine
the stick of Florida junior attacker Gabi Wiegand after her
apparent go-ahead goal late in overtime. The pocket was ruled too
deep and the goal was overturned. Syracuse eventually won on senior
midfielder Sarah Holden's goal in double overtime to advance to the
NCAA championship game.

STONY BROOK, N.Y. – Alyssa Murray has
scored 73 goals for Syracuse this season, but she found a way to
make a different kind of impact in Syracuse's dramatic 14-13 double
overtime victory over Florida in the NCAA Division I women's
lacrosse semifinals Friday.

The top-seeded Gators had let a seven-goal second-half lead slip
away, but looked like they would redeem themselves as junior Gabi
Wiegand scored with just nine seconds to play in overtime to give
Florida an apparent 14-13 lead. As the Gators' offensive players
celebrated just a few feet away from her, Murray frantically
sprinted towards the officials to call for a stick check.

"I just ran over to the ref a little crazed," said Murray, a
sophomore who had three goals in the victory. "Anybody on the field
can do that. We were fighting for our life and it was something you
have to do."

The pocket on Wiegand's stick was ruled too deep and the goal
was disallowed, forcing the game into sudden victory, where
Syracuse completed its remarkable comeback on a goal by Sarah
Holden just 58 seconds into the period. The Orange had a few
anxious moments, as the officials checked Holden's stick, but it
was legal, sending the Orange to the NCAA championship game for the
first time in program history.

"You're always conscious of it," said Syracuse coach Gary Gait,
who noted that Florida had called for a stick check during the
team's regular season meeting on March 3, a 12-11 Syracuse overtime
victory. "It's a good thing our sticks were legal. Obviously, it
was a crucial error on their part not to make sure their sticks
were legal."

The loss ended Florida's impressive run in the NCAA tournament
in just its third season with a varsity program.

"It was just a really, really smart call by Syracuse," said
Florida coach Mandee O'Leary. "Unfortunately we lost the goal, and
lost possession. Stick checks are a part of the game and there's
not much you can do about it."

"I've been involved in a lot of championships and sometimes it
takes a little bit of divine intervention, a little luck," said
Gait, who led the Syracuse men's team to three national titles as a
player, and the Maryland women's team to seven NCAA titles as an
assistant coach. "We thought it was over and Alyssa Murray makes a
good call on a stick check. We didn't give up. We fought to the
very end."